INDIANAPOLIS 500 : Even With Cast, Sullivan Goes Fast, Qualifies

Neither an aching arm nor a gusting wind could keep Danny Sullivan from qualifying Saturday for the Indianapolis 500.

Sullivan, ignoring the pain and discomfort caused by his broken right forearm, was the fastest of the day’s five qualifiers for the May 28 race, turning a 10-mile, four-lap average of 216.027 m.p.h. with a fast lap of 216.753.

Two more positions in the 33-car field will be filled with six more hours of time trials scheduled today.

Sullivan’s effort was nowhere near the record-smashing performances last Sunday of Penske Racing teammates Rick Mears and Al Unser, who qualified at the front of the tentative lineup. But Sullivan, the 1985 Indy winner, was satisfied.

“It’s a big relief,” he said. “It’s a big burden off my shoulders. I was concerned if I could go that fast, now I’m just relieved.”

As Sullivan posed for pictures in the pits after his qualifying run, his crew, behind the defending CART-PPG Indy car champion, grabbed cloth slings from their pockets and put them on without Sullivan noticing. When he turned away from the camera, the 1985 Indy winner broke up at the sight.

Laughs did not appear to be in his immediate future when the 39-year-old driver from Louisville, Ky., crashed during practice here on May 11, sustaining a mild concussion and a broken right forearm.

The broken ulna was put back together and held in place with a metal plate and seven screws and Sullivan got back onto the track Thursday with the help of a special brace designed to keep his arm from twisting.

“We’re still modifying the seat and steering and Dr. (Terry) Trammel will continue working with me on modifying the brace,” Sullivan said. “Hopefully, with eight days more rest, we’ll be strong enough to run 500 miles.”

Asked if the arm hurt, Sullivan said, “Oh yeah, there’s going to be pain for a long time. But when you’re out here running around on the speedway the pain seems to go away.”

Sullivan started with a lap of 214.715 then turned three consecutive laps around the 2 1/2-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval at more than 216 in his new Chevrolet-powered Penske PC18.

“I had messed up in turn two,” he said of the first lap. “The wind was blowing across the track. I knew it wasn’t a good lap.

“I adjusted something in the cockpit on the backstretch. The car felt comfortable after that. I wasn’t particularly surprised by the increase. I was surprised by how much it was.”

Once the field is full the slowest cars can be bumped by faster qualifiers. The fastest 33 cars by the end of Sunday’s session, 4 p.m. PDT, will start the race.

Dominic Dobson opened the qualifying Saturday with a consistent four-lap run of 213.590, with a fast lap of 213.731 and a slow lap of 213.397.

Phil Krueger was next at 212.458, followed by Sullivan and 1986 runner-up Kevin Cogan at 214.569.

Buddy Lazier, whose father Bob drove at Indy, escaped injury when he spun and hit the wall in turn two. Later, Steve Saleen spun in turn four and slammed into the wall virtually head-on. He was awake and alert, but had to be helped from the car and was expected to stay overnight Saturday at Methodist Hospital for further examination with back pain.

PARTIAL INDIANAPOLIS 500 LINEUP FIRST ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 4. Rick Mears (Bakersfield), Penske-Chevy 223.885 25. Al Unser (Albuquerque, N.M.), Penske-Chevy 223.471 20. Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil), Penske-Chevy 222.329

SECOND ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 15. Jim Crawford (Scotland), Lola-Buick 221.450 5. Mario Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Chevy 220.486 22. Scott Brayton (Coldwater, Mich.), Lola-Buick 220.459

THIRD ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 18. Bobby Rahal (Dublin, Ohio), Lola-Cosworth 219.530 2. Al Unser Jr. (Albuquerque, N.M.), Lola-Chevy 218.642 30. Raul Boesel (Brazil), Lola-Judd 218.228

FOURTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 14. A.J. Foyt (Houston), Lola-Cosworth 217.136 28. Randy Lewis (Hillsborough, Calif.), Lola-Cosw. 216.494 70. John Andretti (Indianapolis), Lola-Buick 215.611

FIFTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 8. Teo Fabi (Italy), March-Porsche 215.564 99. Gary Bettenhausen (Mnrvia, Ind.), Lola-Buick 215.230 9. Arie Luyendyk (Netherlands), Lola-Cosworth 214.883

SIXTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 56. Tero Palmroth (Finland), Lola-Cosworth 214.203 3. *Scott Pruett (Roseville, Calif.), Lola-Judd 213.955 71. Ludwig Heimrath Jr. (Canada), Lola-Judd 213.878

SEVENTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 12. *Didier Theys (Belgium), Penske-Cosworth 213.120 69. *Bernard Jourdain (Mexico), Lola-Cosworth 213.105 6. Michael Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Chevy 218.774

EIGHTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 7. Tom Sneva (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Lola-Buick 218.396 91. Gordon Johncock (Hstngs, Mich.), Lola-Buick 215.072 10. Derek Daly (Ireland), Lola-Judd 214.237

NINTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 65. *John Jones (Canada), Lola-Cosworth 214.028 50. Davy Jones (McGraw, N.Y.), Lola-Cosworth 211.475 1. Danny Sullivan (Louisville), Penske-Chevy 216.027

TENTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 11. Kevin Cogan (Palos Verdes), March-Cosw. 214.569 48. Rocky Moran (Arcadia), March-Cosworth 214.212 86. Dominic Dobson (Fairfax, Calif.), Lola-Cosw. 213.590

ELEVENTH ROW

No. Driver (Hometown), Car-Eng. Speed 77. Phil Krueger (Indianapolis), Penske-Cosworth 212.458

*--Rookie.

Average speed of field--216.547